


Soulmarks and Automail Legs

by altoinkblots



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/M, Fluff, Gen, No Proofreading We Die Like Men, Post-Canon, Soulmate-Identifying Marks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-24
Updated: 2020-03-24
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:20:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,014
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23301532
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/altoinkblots/pseuds/altoinkblots
Summary: Winry's been acting odd, and Al has an inking of what's up.
Relationships: Alphonse Elric & Edward Elric, Edward Elric/Winry Rockbell
Comments: 10
Kudos: 106





	Soulmarks and Automail Legs

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this as a writing exercise in a half hour then immediately posted it here. If this doesn't make sense, my bad; but in this au people get soulmate-identifying marks when they turn 18 and they're partially genetic (to explain why some people may not ever get them). Please leave a comment/kudos if you liked it so I know I'm not writing into a bottomless void. Thanks!!

Ed waved at Winry as she breezed past him on the way to her workshop. She didn’t even acknowledge he was there; she had a single-minded focus on whatever she was doing. He sighed. She had been acting weird ever since her eighteenth birthday when her soulmark showed up. Ed had no idea where it was; she wouldn’t show him. Not that it mattered.

(Except it did. A lot.)

He finished eating his piece of bread. Granny had made some earlier that day, and him and Al had eaten an entire loaf by themselves. 

“What do you think is wrong with Winry?” Al asked, reaching for another loaf of bread. 

“I think it’s something to do with her soulmark,” Ed said.

“She has one? That’s cool.”

Ed shrugged. “Well, she’s been weird ever since she turned eighteen, so I’m guessing that’s what it is.”

Al poked him in the arm. “And  _ you _ don’t have anything to say?”

Ed turned to his brother, puzzled. “What do you mean?”

Al rolled his eyes. “Come on, brother. What about your soulmark? Didn’t you get one?”

Ed shook his head. “No. Should I have?”

“Well, let’s see. We know Mom had one, Granny showed us hers when she told us what soulmarks are, and I’m pretty sure Dad had one.”

“Good for them.”

“Well, soulmarks are partially genetic, aren’t they?”

“I guess.”

“So you should have one!”

Ed stood up and stretched, linking his hands together above his head. His shirt rode up a little bit. “That’s true, but with all of our messing around with Truth and gates and whatnot, I’m sure something got screwed up.”

Al gave him a flat look. “Sure. But I’m trying to say that I’m positive you have a soulmark.”

“Fine, I’ll bite. Where would it be?”

Al pointed to Ed’s left leg. “Right there.”

Ed burst out laughing. “Sure! The one place my soulmark would be is on my  _ automail leg _ .”

“No, but it could be on the leg Truth still has.”

Ed narrowed his eyes at his brother. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”

“I’m saying you and Winry are soulmates.”

Ed’s face burned, and he was sure steam was coming out of his ears. “What? Nononono, that’s impossible, Winry and I are just friends, nothing more, I’m sure I’d notice if  _ Winry _ was my  _ soulmate _ that’s just complete rubbish what are you talking about you’re only seventeen you don’t even know if you have a soulmate yet or not and just because Winry’s been acting really really weird doesn’t mean that we’re soulmates…” Ed sputtered off, his mouth moving but no sound came out. 

“Uh-huh. Brother, you’re bright red.”

“ _ Shut up! _ ”

“Cool. I’m going to go for a very, very long walk. Have fun, brother!” 

Al stood up, taking the loaf of bread with him, and walked out of the house. Ed stood in the middle of the kitchen, gaping like a fish. 

Just then, Winry poked her head in. “I thought I heard yelling. Everything okay?” She looked around. “Where’s Al?”

Ed’s brain short-circuited. All he could think of was Riza Hawkeye asking him if he was in love with Winry all those years ago.  _ Winry _ . Of all people she could have asked about, she asked about Winry. His automail mechanic. The person who gave him the ability to walk again, the person who was so fiercely protective of him and Al, to the point of facing Scar on her own. For them. And Al had the audacity to ask if Winry could be his soulmate?

_ You love her, don’t you? _

“Nothing, everything’s fine,” Ed said, his face still flushed. 

Winry cocked her head to the side. “Okay then,” she said. “See you later!”

She waved and left, her blonde hair leaving behind her. 

“Wait, Winry?” Ed called out.

She poked her head in. “Yeah?”

The blush on Ed’s face came back in full force, to the point where his face stung. He found that, all of a sudden, his voice wouldn’t work. He gulped. “Do you have a soulmark?” he choked out. 

Winry blinked. “Uh… yeah. I do, as a matter of fact.”

“If you don’t…” He gulped. “Where is it?”

Winry came into the kitchen and put her left leg on a chair and rolled up the pant leg to reveal her soulmark. It was on the back of her leg, solidly in the middle of her calf. It was black, with a circle around a fourteen-point star. She looked up at him. “Why do you ask?”

Ed rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, Al and I were talking --”

“About my soulmark?”

He nodded. “And how I… don’t have one.”

Winry furrowed her brow. “Didn’t your parents have soulmarks?” He nodded. “Then you really should. They’re genetic, you know.”

“Yeah, I know. But… it could be on my leg.” He gestured to his automail leg, hidden underneath his pants. “Y’know, the missing one. The one that Truth has. Like yours.”

He was sure his face was literally on fire. Almost as if his nose was going to burst into flames at any second. 

Winry’s eyes widened. “Holy… Are you saying that  _ you’re  _ my soulmate?”

“I know, I think it’s stupid too --”

Winry flung her arms around his neck. He stood there, frozen. 

“Winry… What are you doing?”

“Hugging you.”

“Why?”

She pulled away from him, her hands resting on his shoulders. “Edward Elric, you are my best friend. Even if you weren’t my soulmate, I don’t think the cosmos have any say over who our soulmate is or isn’t.” She smiled at him. “Besides, I told Granny when I was five that I was going to marry you, and that plan hasn’t changed.”

Ed’s brain stopped working. 

Winry laughed. “See you at dinner, alchemy freak. I think Granny is going to make shepherd's pie.”

Ed blinked, and mumbled something in response. Winry left the kitchen, leaving him standing there, frozen, in the middle of the room. Finally, his brain caught up with what she just said.

“What do you mean, you were five?”


End file.
